Featured in This Roundup:

Cons: Screen addiction controls and other major features not included at launch.
Design flourishes only seen occasionally.

Bottom Line: The latest update to Android (9.0 Pie) brings visual tweaks and smart quality-of-life improvements that really work, but key new features like screen addiction controls aren't included at launch.

Bottom Line: The Nokia 7.1 offers a winning combination of great performance, killer looks, and up-to-date Android software for a reasonable price.

Apple or Android?

Whether you're looking for a big or small phone, entry-level or top-of-the-line, Android offers options for everyone. And unlike Apple's rigid release cycle, Google's hardware partners unleash a seemingly endless stream of new devices year-round. But therein lies the problem: With so many options out there, how do you settle on the right one? Lucky for you, we test and review nearly every smartphone available on all the major US carriers.

Keep in mind that while the reviews above may not show your carrier of choice, most of the phones here are available for, or compatible with, multiple US carriers. Read on for what to look for when buying, as well as our top picks for Android phones.

When to Buy a New Android Phone

Now is a good time! Major Android lineups have just been refreshed: the Samsung Galaxy S10 line, the LG G8, OnePlus 7 Pro, Pixel 3a, and Moto G7 line offer 2019-style models at price points from $200 to over $1,000. We'll likely see the next big round of high-profile releases this fall. If you buy a phone now, you won't have to worry about being current.

The first 5G phones have just started to hit the market, but we'd advise holding back for the moment. On AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, the first few phones (the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and the Motorola Moto Z3 with a Moto Mod) only support short range millimeter wave 5G, not the longer distance low-band 5G that will have much broader coverage. For that, you need to wait for phones based on Qualcomm's X55 modem or Snapdragon 865 chipset, which will start arriving in November. The LG V50 may be a more viable choice on Sprint, which uses different frequencies and doesn't have the problem the other three carriers have. But we haven't tested it as of this writing and so we can't quite recommend it yet.

Pricing Trends

This list has phones from $200 to $900. In terms of even less expensive phones, we usually recommend the Moto E series, but we're waiting for that lineup to be refreshed at the moment. One tip at the very low end: carrier-branded phones (which don't mention the name of their manufacturer) often aren't very good.

Most of the phones sold in the US cost $600 or more, because they're sold on monthly payment plans that hide the cost over 24 or 30 months. This year we're seeing some intriguing models between $300 and $500 though, most specifically the Pixel 3a series and the Nokia 7.1. Those are great phones for people who don't want to be yoked to a payment plan.

If you're trying to balance payment and power, the OnePlus 7 Pro has the best bang for the buck on the market. It's even faster than the Samsung Galaxy S10+, has just as big a screen, and costs $300 less.

What Size Phone Is Right for You?

There's been a dramatic shift in Android phone shapes and sizes over the last few years. Many manufacturers have started to make their phones taller and narrower, resulting in one-hand-friendly models with improbably large screen sizes. We go into more detail on the new form factors in This Is How We Need to Measure Phone Screens Now.

You can find Android phones with stated screen sizes from 4.6 inches up to 6-plus inches. With the new form factors, though, it's very important to look at the width of the phone as well as the width of the screen. That's how the biggest screen in our list, the 6.67-inch panel on the OnePlus 7 Pro, doesn't overwhelm.

Which Is the Best Android Version?

Not all Android is created equal. Device manufacturers like LG and Samsung have been applying their own visions to Android for some time now. If you want a pure Google experience, then you want to go for a Pixel device; they're the developer models where Google makes sure to deploy upgrades first. Motorola and OnePlus also have very clean user interfaces, although they tend to add more invisible features to Android.

The next version of Android, "Q," will come out this fall. For now, the newest version of Android is 9.0 Pie, which is available on almost all the phones on our list. Android 8.0 Oreo is also acceptable. Do not buy any phone with an earlier version, as the older the Android software version gets, the more likely it is to have serious security flaws. There are a lot of budget phones kicking around with Android 7 or even Android 6 or below, which you should absolutely avoid.

The Ongoing Trade War

We've frequently recommended phones from the Huawei, Honor, and ZTE brands in the past—they're often high-quality products that are great value for the money. But over the past year, the US government has essentially gone to war with those companies, making their future on the US market unreliable. So for now, we've eased away from reviewing most Huawei, Honor, and ZTE products until their distribution in the US is clearer.

We also generally don't include phones on this list that aren't available in the US. However, we sometimes take a look at them for our sister site, PCMag UK. They review a lot of Huawei flagships.

Should You Buy Through a Carrier or Unlocked?

The US market is still dominated by carrier-sold phones, but buying your phone direct and unlocked gives you more freedom to switch carriers if you choose to do so.

Buying your phone unlocked will give you a device with less carrier bloatware and no ongoing payment plan, which you can switch to another carrier or sell on eBay at will. It's actually something you own. Every phone on this list can be bought direct, with no carrier involvement. But most people still buy their phones through carriers, which offer a single point for service and support, as well as monthly payment plans that dramatically lower the upfront prices of phones.

Of the bunch shown here, most of them work on all four networks. The OnePlus 7 Pro doesn't work on Sprint. The Asus ROG phone and the Nokia 7.1 only work on AT&T and T-Mobile.

Choosing Android as your mobile operating system is only half the battle. If you're still on the fence, check out our list of The Best Smartphones, regardless of OS.

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About the Author

PCMag.com's lead mobile analyst, Sascha Segan, has reviewed hundreds of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets in more than 9 years with PCMag. He's the head of our Fastest Mobile Networks project, one of the hosts of the daily PCMag Live Web show and speaks frequently in mass media on cell-phone-related issues. His commentary has appeared on ABC, the BBC, the CBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and in newspapers from San Antonio, Texas to Edmonton, Alberta.

Segan is also a multiple award-winning travel writer, having contributed to the Frommer's series of travel guides and Web sites for more than a decade. Other than his home town of New York, his favorite ... See Full Bio